Working Mothers of Children with Chronic Illness: Narratives of Working and Caring

Vickers, Margaret H.; Parris, Melissa A.; Bailey, Jeff

doi:10.1177/183693910402900108

Cited by 21 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Vickers et al () and Vickers and Parris () both used a narrative, qualitative approach to report the challenges experienced by working mothers. Both studies described experiences of feeling as if they were “doing it all,” being frustrated with their mothering role and needing to juggle work with the competing and conflicting requirements at home.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Advances in medical knowledge and technology over the last 20 years have led to an increase in the number of children living with some kind of chronic condition (Isaacs & Sewell, ; Vickers, Parris, & Bailey, ). Prevalence rates across developed countries report 27% of children aged 5 to 14 years in Australia (AIHW, ), and 26.6% in the United States (Bethell et al, ) live with some form of long‐term chronic illness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Working and caring for a child with chronic illness: A review of current literature

Kish

Newcombe

Haslam

2018

Child

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This review summarizes what is currently known about work patterns, challenges, and consequences in parents of children with chronic conditions. Employment is clearly impacted for these parents. Although workplace challenges have been extensively researched, other challenges (eg, personal and family) and impacts on their well-being have not. This review discusses the present standing of this research. It outlines the strengths and limitations of the current literature, makes recommendations for future research, and suggests theoretical and practical implications of the further findings.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Working and caring for a child with chronic illness: A review of current literature

Kish

Newcombe

Haslam

2018

Child

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“…Unfortunately, many carers of children with chronic illness have come to the conclusion that they are alone in the responsibility of caring, and that this made the challenge all the more difficult (Ray, 2002, p. 434). For instance, for Dolly, if the father decides to wash the child's clothes, it will still be to "help" her (Vickers et al, 2004). Seeking and accepting help is a vital constituent to positive coping and making their "invisible" work visible to others: learning what is needed, getting beyond others' discomfort and lack of understanding, and being specific about the help that is needed is recommended for parents of children with chronic illness (Ray, 2002, p. 434).…”

Section: "Doing It All"mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Because the focus of this study was on the challenges presented to the parent who is also working and caring, rather than the child's experiences with illness, the study was less concerned with the specifics of the child's illness or disability, than it was with the full-time working parents' experiences (Vickers et al, 2004). Lee's (2001) study of older women carers provided a guide; her concern also lay with the experience of the carer, rather than the specifics of the illness or disability of the person being cared for, asking: "Do you regularly provide care or assistance to any other person because of their long-term illness, disability or frailty?"…”

Section: An Exploratory Study: An Emergent Research Designmentioning

confidence: 98%

Towards Ending the Silence: Working Women Caring for Children with Chronic Illness

Vickers

Parris

2005

Employ Respons Rights J

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This paper presents stories from women who work and care for a child with a significant chronic illness or disability. The purpose of this paper is to move towards ending the silence on their lives. A three-phase emergent research design responds to the question: What is life like for a full-time worker who is concurrently the primary carer of a chronically ill child? This paper considers the theory of Silencing the Self (Jack, 1991) in relation to the emergent themes of "Otherness" and "Doing it All." As in Jack's study, these women also engaged in silencing of the self. However, unlike the respondents in Jack's study, these women did not demonstrate feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness for the future, nor were they alone in contributing to their silence. Indeed, many experienced silencing behaviors from others around them, and many rallied against the silence, not accepting that their burden should continue. Consideration of Jack's theory is made to point out the distinctions between the women in this study and Jack's study, and analytical commentary is provided to demonstrate the relevance of this analysis in light of the current debates surrounding the Work-Home Conflict and the rising levels of informal care provided by women in our communities.There are three aims for this paper. First, we highlight the problems for women in our workplaces 3 having to work full time and care for a child with a significant chronic illness. 4 Secondly, we report two themes of caring and working that emerged from a recent . 3 We note that, for this study, the term "working women" is used to include women in full-time paid employment or its equivalent, whether self-employed, undertaking multiple part-time/casual roles, full-time study, or in the full-time permanent paid labor force. That said, we recognize that much of women's work is not paid, a point especially evident in this study. 4 A chronic illness is a long-term health problem or disability experienced by the child for at least six months. This is a significant, ongoing condition, requiring ongoing medical or professional intervention (via pharmacological 91 0892-7545/05/0600-0091/0 C 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

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“…Many have written about the problems individuals face as they wrestle with engagement with the organization in a meaningful and productive way. We have learned of toxic workplaces and toxic emotions at work (Frost, 2003); emotionally anorexic workplaces (Fineman, 1993); the personal cost for those exposed to redundancies and downsizing (Stein, 1998(Stein, , 2001Vickers, 2002); bullying and violence at work (Barron, 2002;Mann, 1996;Quine, 1999;Randall, 1997;Rees, 1995;Vickers, 2001b); alienating workplaces (Blauner, 1964;Braverman, 1994;Fromm, 1963Fromm, /1994La Bier, 1986); abusive workplaces (Perrone & Vickers, 2004;Powell, 1998); the traumatized worker (Vickers, 2004); the work-home conflict, especially as it pertains to caregiving responsibilities for full time workers (Vickers, Parris & Bailey, 2004); and that those with chronic illness and disability (whether caused at work or not) are simply not gaining sufficient support in their efforts to remain gainfully employed (Thomson & Dunstan, 2002;Vickers, 1998Vickers, , 1999Vickers, , 2001a. At a time when claims are being made that work is becoming more central to our lives and identities (Trinca & Fox, 2004), the health (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and psychological) of the individual at work should be of primary concern.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Towards Employee Wellness: Rethinking Bullying Paradoxes and Masks

Vickers

2006

Employ Respons Rights J

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Wellness in organizations" should focus on the well being of individual workers. At a time when the wellness of individuals is increasingly being threatened in our workplaces, I argue that one way wellness can be sought is through careful examination of routine organizational practices. To make this point, I look to the problem of bullying in organizations and, in particular, traditional organizational responses to bullying. The paradoxes of protective legislation and protective workplace policies are explored, before numerous organizational masks that serve to bolster these paradoxes are discussed: the mask of stereotypes; the mask of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); the mask of counseling; and the mask of training. The way towards wellness in organizations lies with the recognition of unintended distortions and limitations on existing legislation, policy and process, and the critical assessment of traditional remedies.There can be no health or wellness in organizations without careful attention to the well being of individual employees. Perhaps, rather than thinking about "organizational wellness," a more useful mantra might be "wellness in organizations." My concern with wellness in organizations is

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Working Mothers of Children with Chronic Illness: Narratives of Working and Caring

Cited by 21 publications

References 13 publications

Working and caring for a child with chronic illness: A review of current literature

Working and caring for a child with chronic illness: A review of current literature

Towards Ending the Silence: Working Women Caring for Children with Chronic Illness

Towards Employee Wellness: Rethinking Bullying Paradoxes and Masks

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